Publication Details |
| Category | Text Publication |
| Reference Category | Journals |
| DOI | 10.5194/we-15-49-2015 |
| Title (Primary) | Biodiversity impacts of climate change – the PRONAS software as educational tool |
| Author | Ulbrich, K.; Schweiger, O.; Klotz, S.; Settele, J. |
| Source Titel | Web Ecology |
| Year | 2015 |
| Department | BZF |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Page From | 49 |
| Page To | 58 |
| Language | englisch |
| UFZ wide themes | RU1; |
| Abstract | Loss of biodiversity under climate change is on the top of European research
agendas. However, there is a huge gap between the scientific and the
educational communities: Only a small amount of current knowledge reaches the young
generation. We faced the challenge of how to transfer results of biodiversity
research to the reality of school classrooms – in a way that raises
interest, awareness and motivation among students from the age of 12 to 19.
We developed the educational software PRONAS (PROjections of NAture for Schools) to show how scientists handle
questions about the impact of climate change on the habitats of many
European species. About 50 European plant and animal species have been
used to demonstrate habitat losses, habitat shifts, and mismatch of habitat
dynamics of interacting species. The software was developed with a bottom-up
approach, and a manual for applying the software in the classroom was
written in close cooperation with teachers. We included specific elements of
didactic approaches such as storylines describing future scenarios,
projections and simulations of species' future climatic niches, as well as
the combination of virtual and real excursions. PRONAS is freely accessible
in German and English on http://www.ufz.de/pronas-lernsoftware. Feedback was given
by about 100 teachers from German and other European schools at six
teacher workshops and by 141 students from four German schools. While most
teachers confirmed that the designed format of knowledge transfer is
attractive and contributes to knowledge building and awareness raising, many
students older than 16 felt under-challenged. Altogether, we found that
"educational software" is a useful format for scientific outreach which is
worth joint efforts of scientists and educators and which needs more support
and incentives for scientists to go forward in this direction. |
| Persistent UFZ Identifier | https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=16829 |
| Ulbrich, K., Schweiger, O., Klotz, S., Settele, J. (2015): Biodiversity impacts of climate change – the PRONAS software as educational tool Web Ecol. 15 (1), 49 - 58 10.5194/we-15-49-2015 |
|